Transportation

Transportation is one the major components of livability and mobility around the globe, regardless of community type. “Smart cities” initiatives place transportation as one of the major components of S&CC related policies and operations. Not surprisingly, a lack of access to transportation services, particularly to/from health facilities, is reported as a major issue for 80% of aging population respondents in the ICMA survey 1.

Current technologies such as transit information systems/apps, rideshare apps, and emerging technologies, and autonomous and connected vehicles, open a new paradigm in transportation and mobility. However, the aging population may not be able to readily adopt these technologies due to a range of factors. For instance, although there is much discussion about autonomous vehicles and how they can be utilized by ride-sharing, a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) report by Florida State University 2 found that older adults are more conservative about shared ownership and for-hire autonomous vehicles models. However, if the value of the technology is perceived to be great enough, for instance for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), they may even be more willing than younger drivers to pay for it 3.  In addition, autonomous vehicles are supported more by populations with a higher socioeconomic status 2 . A study by Mid America Transportation Center 1 argued that there are some discrepancies within the aging population regarding the adoption of transportation-related technologies. Specifically, individuals age 55-64 were found to be more anxious and concerned about becoming overly reliant on technology compared to individuals age 65-75, who are potentially in need of more driving assistance. Nevertheless, the reluctance to adopt technologies among the aging population is common, not only for emerging ones but also for existing ones such as Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for mobility 6. The RCN aims to dig deeper into the aging population’s attitudes towards new transportation-related technologies, while investigating the discrepancy in needs and the technology adoption of aging populations who live in rural and dense urban areas.

  1. Marshall, D., Chrysler, S., & Smith, K. (2014). Older Drivers’ Acceptance of In-Vehicle Systems and the Effect it has on Safety. Mid-America Transportation Center Report, No. 25-1121-0003-217 ↩
  2. Duncan, M., Charness, N., Chapin, T., Horner, M., Stevens, L., Richard, A., & Morgan, D. (2015). Enhanced Mobility for Aging Populations Using Automated Vehicles. Florida Department of Transportation, Final Report. (No. 035048) ↩
  3. Souders, D. J., Best, R., & Charness, N. (in press, 2016).  Valuation of active blind spot detection systems by younger and older adults.  Accident Analysis & Prevention. DOI 10.1016/j.aap.2016.08.020 ↩
  4. Duncan, M., Charness, N., Chapin, T., Horner, M., Stevens, L., Richard, A., & Morgan, D. (2015). Enhanced Mobility for Aging Populations Using Automated Vehicles. Florida Department of Transportation, Final Report. (No. 035048) ↩
  5. Marshall, D., Chrysler, S., & Smith, K. (2014). Older Drivers’ Acceptance of In-Vehicle Systems and the Effect it has on Safety. Mid-America Transportation Center Report, No. 25-1121-0003-217 ↩
  6. Tacken, M., Marcellini, F., Mollenkopf, H., Ruoppila, I., & Szeman, Z. (2005). Use and acceptance of new technology by older people. Findings of the international MOBILATE survey:‘Enhancing mobility in later life’. Gerontechnology, 3(3), 126-137 ↩